While this
recording was made in New Jersey on the New York and Long Branch in 1954,
the listener will hear sounds that echoed around Columbus for forty years
when the Pennsy K4s pulled passenger and mail trains through town. The
wistful, haunting PRR 3-chime passenger whistle says “Pennsy” more than
any other sound in railroading. Made in PRR’s own shops, the round-topped
whistle sounded the notes of E-G-B, a minor triad. This whistle was
standard equipment on passenger power from about 1875 through the end of
steam. It was used on all modern power, including M1, J1, Q2 and T1. As
engines were retired, their “K4” whistle was often used to replace the
high-pitched “banshee” on older freight power. — Recording from Howard
Fogg’s Power of the Past, an LP released in the 1970’s, in the Ryan
Hoover Collection.